Loan Officer Coaching

A buddy of mine, Frank, kind of threw a glass of cold water in my face some time back, to help bring me to my senses, and it really helped me out, so I thought I would share with you.

“You don’t have to remove all of your flaws and insecurities in order to succeed. You just have to accept them and move forward anyway.”

See, when I became a loan officer, I had major doubts of whether it was going to work out. I knew very little about “loans”. Just enough to pass the test.

I also had never done any real sales work, I’m a major introvert (there’s a surprise), easily distracted, and somewhat “technology challenged”. Sound like a recipe for success? Hardly!!

But here’s what I did have (and have always had)…

Take Action Now. Or more accurately, “Take Imperfect Action Now!”

Find what successful people are doing and do what they tell me to do…

Even if I’m afraid, even if I’m unsure, even if

See, most people live in a world of “IF-THEN”…

IF I knew what to say, THEN I would call that Realtor.

IF I had the lowest rate, THEN I would get more loans.

IF I had more loans, THEN I could get some help.

So, if there’s somewhere in your life where you’re doubting yourself, I hope today’s story helps you remember…

That’s totally normal. Even to be expected. And you may never feel 100% ready or certain.

Whatever the “next step” is for you right now, you’re probably far more ready for it than you realize.

So Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway.

Also, when you need any help with structuring what to do next, or even what to first, or what the next step is, or “what to say to who”, feel free to reach out and I’ll totally hook you up.

We are coming into the holiday season already. 

The question that always comes up is, “Should we take time off, or should we “grind” while everybody else is taking time off?”

Here’s what has helped me the best…

First of all, do good focused work on a 32 hour work week for 11 months out of the year, and, as long as we have focused on building up our referral network, and not focused on chasing page 3 of the bank statement, we will build up our business so much that you will have earned the right to take off the entire month of December.

But here’s the thing, most LOs are so busy putting out fires and chasing conditions, that they don’t take the time to work on building up their referral network.  

We are coming into the holiday season! What is the one thing that most loan officers and real estate agents start doing as the holidays approach? That’s right! They stop selling!  Have you ever heard this from one of your real estate agents? Let’s wait till after the first of the year. Or, Let’s talk later.  Or, Hey I want to take some time off! Have you perhaps I said those words yourself?

Let’s chat about that for just a second.  As you know, I am a huge NASCAR fan! Did you know that on the superspeedways like the Daytona 500 that they virtually never put their foot on the brake the entire race, other than when they come in for gas or tires.  They have their foot on the gas pedal the entire time.  When they need to slow down they just take their foot off the gas for a second and then back to full throttle.

This holiday season, take a lesson from NASCAR and consider not slamming on the brakes!

Continue to make your phone calls.

Just consider different topics.  For example, invite them for a coffee just to catch up! Ask about their families.  Ask about what kind of presents they are going to get for their spouse or their kids. Ask what they’re going to do for the holidays. Do they get a real tree or an artificial tree? Do they open their presents on Christmas Eve or on Christmas day? Meet them at the mall and have coffee with them while they’re shopping!

The key is, when January comes, instead of trying to restart your cold engine, simply change your conversations back to “sales mode” and start asking for the business again.

You can encourage your real estate partners to do the exact same thing. It’s much easier to go from 50 to 200 miles per hour than it is to go from 0 to 200. There’s a lot less wear and tear on the car and the engine!

This holiday, do what other loan officers are not willing to do! Keep making your calls! Come January, you’ll be thanking me